Dear Harbor Families, 

What a wonderful start to the school year! It has been such a joy to walk through our classrooms at Harbor during these first days of school, as students have settled into classroom routines, developing relationships with each other and their teachers that will sustain a year of learning, growth, and the development of essential dispositions of empathy and kindness. Our school-wide theme of empathy is visible as we start the year together!

One of my favorite moments each day is greeting families in the arrival and dismissal line, where our faculty and staff has the opportunity to witness the smiles of eager anticipation as students enter into our care each morning, and share in subtle reflections of a full day as they climb back into their cars at the conclusion of their school day. These arrival and dismissal windows also provide an opportunity for me - and your child’s teachers - to briefly connect with many of you as you drop off or pick up your children. These moments of connection are meaningful, and having time for longer conversations is important as well. As you settle into the school year at Harbor (and throughout the year), I am eager to hear from you with questions, reflections, or simply for an opportunity to connect and get to know each other better! Feel free to arrange a time for a virtual (or in-person) conversation, via my appointment calendar (link removed), throughout the year.

Of course, the most important relationship forming right now is between you and your child’s teachers. I often describe our partnership using the metaphor of a medical team, where specialists, the family, and the patient work together to provide the very best care. Similarly, our professional team - each with their own expertise - look forward to collaborating with you, the expert on your child, as we nurture their growth and development this school year.

As these partnerships deepen, please take the time to connect with your child’s teachers and other members of our staff, and don’t hesitate to reach out to them for questions and discussion. We look forward to seeing you at Back to School Night in just two weeks, where you’ll learn more about your child’s academic and social/emotional curriculum, routines, and resources, and connect with other families. Parent conferences are scheduled in November and April, and additional meetings are always available as needed. As we purposefully build these relationships, let’s also hold our school-wide theme of empathy at the center—listening, considering perspectives, and seeking to understand one another.

In the classrooms, teachers are already guiding students to explore empathy, helping them to practice understanding and caring about the emotions of others. At a young age, this starts with naming their own emotions, so you will likely hear about students exploring their feelings as they seek to understand the feelings of others, and learn to take action to support a friend with kind acts. 

You’ll find today’s first edition of Harbor Highlights full of updates, reminders, and opportunities to stay connected. Please read it carefully each week. As you review today’s newsletter, we hope you will mark your calendars for the Family Friday events, including our first Harbor School Family Association (HSFA) meeting on September 19th, Open Classrooms on October 3rd, and a Coffee and Connections dedicated to exploring the intersection of empathy and parenting on October 17th.

We are also pleased to be partnering with Dr. Dan Shapiro, a well respected developmental and behavioral pediatrician  in our region, to offer a parenting course, called Parent Child Journey, on nine Thursday evenings this fall  in our new Chesapeake Room. This course is highly regarded in our community, so it is an honor to host it here at Harbor! It is available to the public and registration is available below; we encourage you to sign up soon if you would like to participate.

As we begin the new school year, I hope you will join us in ensuring that Harbor remains a place where empathy, kindness, and compassion are central - and where young children practice these essential life skills every day. In a world where empathy is not always modeled, our mission at Harbor has never felt more important. Thank you for your partnership in creating this special learning community, where our children and families will thrive together.

Warmly,

Leah Musico
Head of School